Elliott G. Dorothea Lange

The Museum of Modern Art, 1966. — 120 p.Dorothea Lange has long been considered one of the seminal influences in modern documentary photography. In the early 1930's, Miss Lange moved away from formal portraits to seek her subjects outside of her studio. Her belief in people, in the significance of the ordinary, and her need to communicate what she observed have become fundamental to the philosophy of the modern documentary. She is best known for her immensely influential work for the Farm Security Administration which called attention to the needs of rural America during the tragedy of the dust bowl years.Miss Lange's work was directed not toward esthetic delight, but toward social relevance. The beauty in her photographs was not a goal, but a proof of success - a demonstration that something of importance had been clearly seen and graphically fixed, A beautiful picture, because of its rightness, demanded contemplation, and that was the success she wished.